The benefits service provided by Bristol City Council is 'poor' and has 'uncertain prospects for improvement', according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.
On a scale from zero to three stars the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a 'poor', zero-star rating. This was because people are waiting too long for their claims to be processed and some find the letters they receive about their benefits claim hard to understand. Customers who use the phone to contact the Council about benefits can wait a long time before they speak to an advisor and this is getting worse. People who want to appeal against the decision made about their benefits wait too long to have their case reviewed. More consistent action to reduce fraud would help cut costs and save the taxpayer money.
Philip Suter, Audit Commission senior manager, said:
'Successfully claiming benefits is an essential safety net for many people, especially during the current economic downturn. Bristol City Council has much to do to improve the benefits service for local people. It recognises this and has begun to tackle the problems. It is committed to providing a better customer service, building on work already started.'
Strengths include:
- People have good access to making a claim at several places across the city where customer care is high.
- Fraud is successfully prosecuted.
Weaknesses include:
- Customers wait too long to have their benefits claim processed.
- Customers face increasing delays getting telephone advice.
- Levels of debt are increasing because the Council is poor at collecting overpaid benefits.
- Action to deter fraud is inconsistent.
- Customers who appeal against their benefits decision face long delays in having their claim reviewed.
- Approaches to assisting people who may be entitled to benefits claim are limited.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:
- Do more to improve the quality of the service to meet customers' needs more effectively.
- Make it easier for people to access the service by telephone.
- Take action to understand local people's needs and work with partner organisations to help people claim the benefits they're entitled to.
Bristol City Council's Benefits Service pays out around £200 million in benefits each year to over 43,200 people claiming Council Tax Benefit and over 19,000 people claiming Housing Benefits. Over 7,800 of these people are tenants of Registered Social Landlords and 11,700 are tenants of private landlords.
The Service is part of the Neighbourhoods Division with 181 staff. The cost of running the Service in 2009/10 was £7.8 million, of which £4 million was funded through a grant from the DWP and the balance from the Council.
Copies of the report are available from Bristol City Council, or from the Audit Commission website.
Notes to editors
- The Audit Commission is an independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services to deliver better outcomes for everyone.
- Our work across local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services means that we have a unique perspective. We promote value for money for taxpayers, auditing the £200 billion spent by 11,000 local public bodies.
- As a force for improvement, we work in partnership to assess local public services and make practical recommendations for promoting a better quality of life for local people.
For further information please contact: Callum Collins, Senior Regional Communications Manager (Southern). Tel: 0844 798 8844